Sunday, April 5, 2009

Mosh Pit: The Alibi of Tyrants is an action game where the player must liberate people from the control of the government's twisted machinations. This will be the first beat-em up in history to have two characters controlled simultaneously by drawing lines across the play space.

OVERVIEW

1. Story

The year is 2012 and the United States is in turmoil. The government has banned all independent music. Installing themselves as the only distributor and creator they begin to brainwash the masses through the songs. The twisted regime keeps agents at every state sponsored concert to keep order should someone fall out of the trance. A group of rebels determined to free the people from the totalitarian grip of the state.

2. Characters

The player controls two metal heads named Albert and Ozzy. Ozzy is modeled on a combination of Ozzy Osbourne and Dave Mustaine (Megadeth). Albert is modeled after Mike Muir (Suicidal Tendencies) and Zakk Wylde (Black Label Society).

3. Game-play

Albert and Ozzy move entirely through the use of the mouse and a rage meter. The player must first decide which person he wants to move. Ozzy is fast with a long range while Albert is slow and powerful with a short range. For example if the player wanted to move Ozzy he would click in the left mouse button and draw a line. Ozzy would then launch himself in that direction smashing everything in his path and the rage meter would drain. The remaining meter is then used by clicking the right mouse button and moving Albert. The meter would then reset back to full and more movement is possible.(see movement diagram)

4. Winning/Losing Conditions

The game ends when both of the player's characters are killed. If one character is killed the other has the option to revive him by helping him up. The game is won by the player defeating all of the enemies in the level.

5. Team Maneuvers

As in Tony Hawk 3, in order for the player to do more damage he must string together combinations for as long as possible. This is done by drawing lines through multiple enemies. Albert and Ozzy will gain momentum with every hit increasing their speed and damage by a maximum of 3 times normal. The enemies are then propelled by the hit into their cohorts and the edges of the stage for a lesser amount of damage. Ozzy and Albert can then combine forces by running into each other. If Ozzy runs into Albert, Ozzy will bounce off of him for increased range without using the rage meter. If Albert runs into Ozzy, Albert will pick him and use him as a battering ram, plowing through enemies to cause massive damage at the cost of most of the rage meter. The enemies, however, also have the same ability to build momentum and use teamwork attacks against the player. If Ozzy or Albert cannot match or beat the momentum of the enemy they will take damage.

(see team moves)

6. Enemies

There will be 4 types of enemies: The tank, the grunt, the speedster and the stationary. Large 'tank' style enemies cannot be attacked head on by Ozzy. He must smash into them from behind. Albert, however, can attack them head on. Grunt style enemies can simply be defeated by matching or beating their momentum, extra damage is awarded for hitting them from behind. Speedster style enemies can easily out run Albert so they must be overcome with Ozzy's superior speed. The stationary enemies can only be fought with one character when they're out of attack mode and moving. A stationary enemy is easily taken out with a team attack.

Grunt Power/Momentum: 1 to 2/1 to 2

Tank Power/Momentum: 4 to 6/ 1 to 2

Speedster Power/Momentum: 1 to 2/ 4 to 6

Stationary Power/Momentum: 0/ 4

7. Art Direction

The art style for Mosh Pit will be a simplified cartoon style much like Rock Band and Guitar Hero. The simplified style allows an increase in the number of frames in each animation The main characters, Ozzy and Albert, will move in the same style as Mike Patton and Randy Blythe while the enemies will have very sharp corporate movements.

The levels are themed for locations all around the east coast. There will be everything from giant fire spitting pinata dragons in China Town to gritty parking lots illuminated by car headlights. The levels will be split up by band. Each level will have it's own background interaction and it's own boss. The goal of the design is to be as outrageous as possible.

The first level will be the China Town level.

SCENARIO

Little Jimmy has just found Mosh Pit thanks to the wonders of the Internet. He loads up the game and is immediately hit with a wall of Lamb of God. As his face is being rocked completely off he slips the mouse over the start button. The introduction animation plays and he's introduced to the world of Mosh Pit. Jimmy is now part of a group of rebels determined to free music from the totalitarian grip of the state. The introduction finishes and he is run through the movement tutorial. He meets the characters and is shown how to properly harness their power. The tutorial finished Jimmy throws himself head long into the first level. Jimmy watches as his allies take over the stage and start to play as his characters enter the crowd. He cackles and throws his characters into the action with reckless abandon. The mosh pit has begun.

Who am I?

Lawrence is a Game Designer and Illustrator from New Jersey. He makes pretty things and amazing games when he's not busy doodling ugly creatures.
Check out his main site at:
http://www.goodnightlawrence.com